The Storm over Storming the court

OK I am fired up. . .

I was appalled to learn that the SEC had fined Vanderbilt $25,000 after fans stormed the court following the men's basketball team's victory over top-ranked Florida. Are you kidding me? Aren't there more important things the powers that be at the SEC should be worrying about? Apparently it was Vanderbilt's second offense (a first offense costs you $5,000). The NCAA said the SEC is the only conference in the country that has such a penalty.

This only gets worse. . .Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was on the Dan Patrick show yesterday and actually said he doesn't have to worry about Duke students rushing the floor because he tells the fans that since Duke is expected to win every game they host that the only reason they should ever storm the court is after a National Championship and obviously that's not going to happen at Cameron Indoor. He said it validates the other team, and they don't want to do that! I don't care about the record or anything that's just straight arrogant and just makes me detest Duke even more. Then today on the Mike and Mike in the Morning show on ESPN Radio Mike Greenberg says there are certain schools that should just be above rushing the court. PLEASE!

I have a fond memory of my first real college basketball experience. I was a freshman at the University of Dayton. Arch-rival Xavier was in town for a mid-week showdown. UD was nothing special that year, probably around .500. Xavier was ranked 12th in the country and I think maybe unbeaten. The game was televised by ESPN2-which was also a rarity! I sat in the student section with the rest of the "Red Scare" and when Dayton knocked off Xavier we rushed the court for all to see! Great moment! I loved it.

Why would you take that away from college kids? I fully understand that there can be safety issues, but I think for the most part it is a rush of emotion. It's a great part of the college experience.

Tom Izzo was on with "Mike and Mike" this morning also speaking on the issue. Greenberg specifically asked him about the fans rushing the court after last night's win over top-ranked Wisconsin. Michigan State was one of the schools Greenberg thought should be above the idea of rushing the court. "Greeny" noted that since MSU was a good program they should be expected to win-even pointed out that they were National Champs in 2000. First off Izzo pointed out that it was MSU's first win over a top-ranked team in a long time. (Magic vs. Bird I think). He also noted that while they were champs in 2000 that was seven years ago and none of the current players or students were there. He actually likes the idea of the kids rushing the floor, and lamented [the SEC] for trying to regulate everything. Then he told a great story:

A few years back when Michigan State was number one in the country they were beaten at Indiana, where the students rushed the court. A police officer offered to escort Izzo off the floor. Izzo refused, saying that he wanted to stay and watch! He said the students rushing the court were the best compliment he could have asked for.

Bottom line: NO SCHOOL is above rushing the court, and NO SCHOOL should be penalized for what is basically harmless fun. Granted, there are wins I don't believe are worth a court storming but to take away the opportunity-that is just ludicrous!